The present invention relates to seating; and more particularly, it relates to structure for cantilevering a multi-passenger seat from the side wall of a motorcoach, train coach or similar transportation vehicle without a supporting connection to the floor. The term "motorcoach seating" is intended to include all types of transportation seating including city service, trains, surburban, and reclining coach seats, characterized in that each seat is intended to hold two persons, one near the wall and one near the aisle of the vehicle.
It has become desirable from the viewpoint of maintenance, to provide seating of the cantilever type, supported entirely from the wall of the vehicle. This type of seat eliminates the usual obstructions connecting the seat to the floor, such as legs, pedestals, or aisle end bases which are usually found supporting the seat at or near the aisle end.
As mentioned, one of the primary advantages of a cantilever-type seat is the ease of cleaning the vehicle with a gang-type sweeper cleaning the entire width of the vehicle in a single sweep, thereby substantially reducing the time and cost of cleaning. There are, however, other advantages to cantilever seats, including a more pleasant and neater appearance, greater facility of ingress and egress by passengers in the seats, elimination of stumbling hazards that legs or bases may contribute to passengers walking down a narrow aisle or exiting from the seat, and ease of retrieving articles from beneath the seats. The latter advantage stems from the fact that an unobstructed view of the floor area is provided, and the available light shines on the unobstructed area. Further, depending upon the seat structure, there may be more room for storage of luggage, etc., beneath a cantilevered seat as well as an increased area for the legs of the passengers located behind the seat.
There are problems, however, in achieving a cantilever seat which has all of the advantages mentioned above yet which is sturdy over the extended period of rugged use expected of a motorcoach seat and which does not become hazardous in the event of a crash. Perhaps the more important of these two considerations is that of safety. In the event of a crash, the seat structure and its attachment to the vehicle wall must be such that the seat does not become detached from the wall either upon crash impact or upon being impacted by a passenger, for example, from the seat behind. If a seat does become detached from the wall, it adds additional energy and momentum to break loose adjacent seats which, in turn, if broken loose, still further increase the danger to passengers. Adjacent seats which are rigidly mounted so as to remain in place in the event of a crash become, in effect, safety barriers to define a critical zone or compartment in which a passenger is restrained from adding to crash momentum and, at the same time, which projects a passenger against the danger of flying objects.